The present exemplary embodiments pertain to a connector system and, more particularly, pertain to a connector system which is a double touch-safe connector system and which may be also a blind mate connector system.
UL (Underwriting Laboratories) and other safety standards use a particular criterion to determine the “touch safe” compliance of electrical components. “Touch safe” meaning safe to touch without fear of electrical shock. Since electrical connectors are used in electrical circuits and when unplugged my still have an applied voltage there is a requirement for the connector contacts to be “touch-safe”. A feature of a back-up battery or uninterruptible power supply is both sides of the mating connector pairs may be energized: one side by the charging circuit, the other by the battery creating a potentially hazardous situation when the battery and charging circuit are separated by a separable connector.
Two piece connectors are typically comprised of a “male” side and a “female” side where the female side is more readily made touch-safe while the male side is typically more difficult to address. For two piece connectors, the female connector is commonly used on the unit which is outputting/sourcing power (for example, a wall outlet in a house) and the male connector is typically used on the unit which is inputting/sinking power (for example, a lamp, tool, heater, etc). However, in certain cases, for example, connecting a battery backup unit to a power supply unit, both sides may potentially be outputting dangerous levels of power. In this scenario, a “double touch-safe” connector system is required, wherein both sides of the connector are touch-safe and/or are physically shielded as potential shock hazards.
It may also be a requirement of two piece connectors that they be “blind mated” which means that the two pieces of the connectors may be joined without visual alignment.